Picking the right letter font often spells trouble, no matter whether you’re just starting out or already have a well established business. There seems to be endless choices, varying in stroke density, tracking, kerning and

We’ve created this guide to help you choose the best cursive font for your next design project.

Why do font choices matter?

While words themselves can evoke emotions, so can the image of those words. Like art, letter fonts have the ability to make us feel certain ways. A font can have just as much impact on our emotions as the genre, subject matter and tone of the writing or design. Fonts can be used as a persuasive tool to express your message or alter the perception of its meaning.

The letter font you choose can say a lot about your brand and can influence whether that brand is seen as fun and frivolous or sensible and stable. When creating a bigger design piece the font can set the tone for the whole project. Good choices can complement and communicate your message clearly, and bad choices can distract from your message.

How do you choose a cursive font?

01. What are you using it for?

When choosing a cursive font you first need to determine what you are using it for. This goes beyond the medium that you are using. For instance, you might be making a brochure. However, the use of the brochure is to get consumers excited about an up and coming cafe in their area. Therefore, the brochure is being used to communicate why someone should come to the opening of this cafe. The letter fonts used in this instance needs to communicate the look and feel of the cafe.

Is it a retro, hipster cafe targeting millennials?

Is it opening in a business district for a busy corporate market?

Whatever the type of cafe, the font used needs to communicate this part of the brand.

There are also practical considerations. For example, some cursive fonts are better for printing and others for online reading; some are better for headings, and others not so much. This has to do with tracking, kerning, swooshes, and ligatures.

02. Is your letter font readable?

Before you choose any cursive font, you need to ask yourself “is my letter font readable?” Particularly if it’s being used as headings and titles. If there is a large body of text it is best to use a simpler and clearer fonts. But we’ll get to combining fonts later on in this guide…

For now, you have to consider:

Spacing: Enhancing the readability of a font can be achieved by adjusting the spacing between the characters, words, and lines.

X-height: This refers to the height of the font’s lowercase letters. Having a generous x-height in proportion to its capital letters improves readability.

The ll1 test: Putting these three characters side by side - a capital “I”, a lowercase “i” and the numeral “1”. If they look almost the same it will hinder readability. Choosing a font where the three characters have significant differences will enhance readability.

03. How many fonts should you use?

This is the ultimate design challenge, finding two fonts that work well together. This is particularly important when you’re using a cursive font because you’ll need another font to break it up and make it more readable. It’ll also help your cursive font to stand out more, which is always a bonus.

While you don’t want them to be too similar, you also don’t want them to clash. Here are a couple of tips when choosing two fonts to compliment each other:

Find something that is the same: While they can be different, if you can find something that they have in common they will more likely go together. Even if it is subtle, finding two fonts that have shared characteristics like kerning, or proportions will work very well together

There should be a visual hierarchy: Each letter font should be different because it has a different job. You may choose a cursive font as a heading, title or name and then a simpler sans-serif font for the detail or body. It should be clear what job each font is doing.

They have a shared designer: Every designer has a style, and this is seen in their fonts. If you choose two fonts from the same designer chances are they will look good together. You never know, the designer may have even designed them to work together.

Where Can You Find Free Cursive Fonts?

There are a number of free letter fonts out there that you can use for both personal and commercial purposes. To help you out, we’ve put together an article featuring the best, free cursive fonts.

But, while there are plenty of free letter fonts available, they have their limitations. Often free fonts aren’t able to be edited, and they don’t have as many options. Paid fonts go to a great deal of trouble to have a range of ligatures to ensure that the letters line up perfectly, which is super important when it comes to cursive fonts. A step above that? Getting a custom cursive font created specifically for your business.

Get A Custom Cursive Font To Give You The Edge.

If you have looked and can’t find that perfect letter font then why not get something custom made and tailored to your brand? With Freelancer.com you can commission talented graphic designers to create a unique font just for you - whether it be for specific types of logos, modern business cards, or signage. Simply post a project, and you’ll receive bids within minutes.